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hardcore records on ebay — aggregated and examined
Today reader I give you an original 1983 pressing of the long forgot Malefice “Overboard” E.P. You’d be forgiven for not knowing who Malefice are, though if you ask the right people, you’re sure to hear about their wild live performances and formidable stage presence when they had occasion to play the DC area in the early 80’s.
I first discovered them a few thanksgivings back, perusing the used 7″s at a store near my parent’s house in Northern Virginia. The cover had a skeleton in the DRI-guy pose, the back, had the same skeleton (who wears a leather jacket), playing from an evil looking organ (note: there is no organ on the actual record), while a few dozen other punk rock skeletons mosh and stage dive together below him. The label, DSI, I knew for releasing both United Mutation 7″s, and the pentagrams drawn various places on the release had me pretty sure this record could not suck. I must say I have wonderful instincts.
Malefice came from the ashes of another Northern Virgina band, Media Disease, who were a straight forward thrash group that often gigged with United Mutation in their formative days. Malefice took their place as partners in gigging and they played house parties and clubs together for a couple years, at one point even sharing a drummer. If you’ve ever heard the unreleased Void lp this is not too far from it. If you’ve ever disparaged said lp: fuck you.
Malefice isn’t quite as metallic as Void’s lost Potion of Bad Dreams, but they’re drinking from the same well. They’re a bit speedier, and the vocals are a little more unhinged, but the guitar work is also a little less flashy and more tame. You won’t find the lost Void record by picking up the Malefice 7″, but if you’re a fan of the 80’s pscyho-core style, you should dig this. If I had to pinpoint this I’d say take some Void, some UM, and a bit of Venom or maybe 7″ era Obsessed and you’re pretty close to what this sounds like.
Side A features the track Carrion which opens up with one of those chorus-drenched feedback messes that devil-punk bands like so much (see Void, Die Kreuzen, The Scam). Eventually things congeal for a slow crawling intro and then launch into the main riff, a buzzy speed metal type part with dive bombs and scrappy solos added as seasoning. The lyrics concern some vaguely occultish stuff, but the vocals are delivered total hardcore style which sounds cool and raw. You get a pretty gratuitous solo about 3/4ths of the way through that sounds a little more wild because there’s no second guitar to back it, just the bass.
Side B has 2 tracks the first of which is Lost Sheep. Lost Sheep opens up with another tremolo style metal riff and then breaks out with a little more rockin’ type lick as the main riff, comparable to something you might hear on the first Bathory album like Necromancy or Sacrifice, again the vocals are what keeps it footed in the hardcore realm. The last song “Overboard” is the best I think. It has a pretty good descending metal-punk riff and probably the best vocal performance of the 3. The singer just does his best to totally let loose, especially in the choruses “I’m at the edge/and outta breath”. Some pretty smoking solos get laid down in this one too.
There’s 2 pressings of this 7″. This is the original 1983 edition in a folded sleeve that has lyrics on the inside. It should also have an Amoeba Man 1 page comic that advertises other releases on DSI including the ELUSIVE “Mutopia” tape comp — IF ANYONE HAS THIS TO DUB OR AN ORIGINAL TO TRADE PLEASE CONTACT ME I WILL MAKE YOU A GOOD DEAL. The second pressing comes in a glued sleeve and all copies are on blue vinyl. It’s also got an extra song from this session added to it and is much easier to find. In fact it’s not uncommon for unplayed-stock copies to turn up here and there.
After this Malefice never had another record but they did record several sessions which were comped onto an lp called Lotus Blossom in 1990 by the infamous Lost and Found. It’s packaged to look like a singular album, but it actually spans ‘82-’85 (as I recall) and is pretty similar to this E.P. Stock copies of this are findable on ebay from time to time, and are recommended. Interest in Malefice is growing so now is the time to track this record down as it still can be had for under $30.
The Lotus Blossom LP consisted of the first two sessions Malefice recorded. The first session was done the winter of 83. I played drums on the first 7 songs, recorded in Don Zientara’s basement on a 8 track reel to reel. I quit the band and they recorded three other songs Acid death, Sea Level and Bloody insane. These two sessions were released in 1990.
The Overboard EP was released in 84, not 83. It was also recorded after the Lotus Blossom sessions.